Competition = good for consumers? Who’da thunk it?
mordecai98 on
Community isp is even better
nobody_smith723 on
that we left telecom/high speed internet up to shitty companies and not just made it a public utility. Is why america is falling so far behind other countries.
Thing_On_Your_Shelf on
My parent have had active it’s as long as it’s been a thing.
Over the past few years both ATT Fiber and Google Fiber have started becoming available around them, and in that time, without making any changes to their current plan, have been granted upgrades progressively from like 20mbps now up to 200mbps.
Crazy how competition actually works
TapTheMic on
I wish they’d come to New York City.
I spoke with someone who worked in Google Fiber (She was part of their planning division)
She explained that expansion in cities like New York is complicated because of all the red tape around property.
In a midwestern city, there are fewer regulations. This means Google has the capacity to make a contract with a jurisdiction and roll out the service without having to jump through hoops. They aren’t required to get permission from multiple groups of people every time they expand service by a few blocks.
That’s ultimately why Kansas City was the first place to get the service. It was basically an R&D playground and the city was happy to have them.
In New York City, they don’t give approvals like that. Google would have to contract with every single building in NYC individually in order to roll out the service. Each building is considered its own jurisdiction and they have to invite a service like Google to come in and wire the building. Even then, most buildings require a majority vote by the residents to allow that since it could result in tenant costs.
Verizon apparently suffered the same issues when they were pushing out Fios internet here. That’s why the expansion was such a slow and ridiculous process in different parts of the city.
That and Verizon had no incentive because there was no real competition.
If we want Google Fiber to expand, we need to change the way internet infrastructure laws work in major cities. They won’t be able to offer their services everywhere if cities don’t allow loosen right of access and maintenance laws around infrastructure.
No_Bit_1456 on
It would take 50 years for them to really get deep into the US. You’d need at least one major city in the US that you committed to taking so much of a loss, to rapidly expand.
Extracrispybuttchks on
I’m sure the ISPs are getting ready to start a lobbying campaign against it. They might even send some judges on vacations.
_JustDefy_ on
Yeah, but Google fiber is being installed in new neighborhoods at the speed of a dial-up connection.
TheHuggableZombie on
In Minneapolis, we have a local company that offers fiber internet at a very attractive price ($75 for 1000/1000). Before they were a thing, it was either Comcast or CenturyLink DSL. Now CenturyLink has a comparable fiber service with similar prices, and Comcast reigned in their pricing.
I will always try my best to avoid Comcast. If I have another choice that’s comparable, I’ll always choose the other guy.
Telemere125 on
My city is installing fiber to every house in the city limits and it’s terrifying mediacom. Which is good, because fuck mediacom’s outrageous prices.
Dawill0 on
Google fiber caused AT&T fiber to be cheaper. I don’t recall the exact details but I know my 1gb connection costs $76/month with all fees included. I believe that’s over $100 in areas w/o google fiber. It’s been a decade of google fiber in Austin and they are finally installed in my hood now. So I’ll finally have a choice but just plan on sticking with AT&T for now because of the free Max subscription.
So yeah, I agree Google makes the competition be more aggressive on pricing. Spectrum still sucks though. In my area and they really just service the people who can’t get fiber yet.
kooknboo on
I’d be happy for any option. We’re a ride till we die Spectrum community. That spectrum being somewhere randomly somewhere pure shit to temporarily ok’ish. You want a car wash or drive thru? We got you covered. You want consistent, decent internet (cable, cell)? Go fuck yourself.
gideon513 on
Google Fiber was incredible when I had it before moving a few years ago. Reasonably priced compared to everyone else at the time, hardware and tech support included, and some of the best customer support I’ve ever experienced in any sector. I miss it and hope it continues to expand.
squrr1 on
I pay $55/mo for Xfinity 800 Mbps. I’m guessing those who don’t have GFiber as an option pay more.
thesmos on
All I can say is I had Sonic 1gbit fiber and Xfinity at the same time and Sonic was garbage, especially at peak streaming hours (evenings). Online gaming was impossible due to packet loss. Even web browsing was noticeably slower than Comcast. We used Sonic as a failover for over a year, but hardly ever needed it since Comcast hardly ever went down, so we cancelled it. It was clear Sonic oversold their circuits. Ping latency and upload was better than Xfinity, but download speed and packet loss were abysmal, especially during peak hours.
ArmaniMania on
Google fiber is still a thing?
Arctiiq on
We recently got Google Fiber, and it’s been great. I don’t think there’s been a single notable outage since. Get fricked Time Warner, oh sorry, Spectrum…
vanderohe on
I remember when squabbles over Internet service providers were something of a nearly political conversation. Now who gives a fuck?
rabbi_glitter on
Once AT&T moved in, Cox reduced prices and gave their customers *Unlimited data*. Currently paying $65 a month for FTH service.
Ekgladiator on
I’m actually surprised Google fiber is still a thing. I figured with how little I heard about it, it was heading towards the grave.
We see it in and around Baltimore, where Comcast has a monopoly in the city but has to compete with Verizon in the surrounding counties.
Comcast’s service in the counties has been faster and cheaper than in the city because when you don’t have any competition, you can do whatever you want.
hackingdreams on
This might have been a headline in 2012, but it’s 2024. We know. We’ve seen it happen, from when Google tried to move into Louisville and suddenly AT&T tripled speeds overnight. Or when the same thing happened in Austin. And Provo.
WeWantLADDER49sequel on
Google Fiber came to Louisville Kentucky several years ago and all they did is fuck people yards and roads by trying to do micro trenching in pavement which is something the big ISPs learned was dumb over 20 years ago. Then they pulled out of the city after they couldn’t roll their service out as cheaply as they wanted to. Not to mention they fought the city to give them easement rights on all existing poles that are owned by the current ISPs and electric companies and didn’t even use them, which cost the city tons of money with all of the legal shit they went through.
We have AT&T Fiber and Spectrum who both offer bilateral 1Gbps internet for 40-60 bucks a month depending on the deal you get. Google Fiber can get fucked.
24 Comments
Competition = good for consumers? Who’da thunk it?
Community isp is even better
that we left telecom/high speed internet up to shitty companies and not just made it a public utility. Is why america is falling so far behind other countries.
My parent have had active it’s as long as it’s been a thing.
Over the past few years both ATT Fiber and Google Fiber have started becoming available around them, and in that time, without making any changes to their current plan, have been granted upgrades progressively from like 20mbps now up to 200mbps.
Crazy how competition actually works
I wish they’d come to New York City.
I spoke with someone who worked in Google Fiber (She was part of their planning division)
She explained that expansion in cities like New York is complicated because of all the red tape around property.
In a midwestern city, there are fewer regulations. This means Google has the capacity to make a contract with a jurisdiction and roll out the service without having to jump through hoops. They aren’t required to get permission from multiple groups of people every time they expand service by a few blocks.
That’s ultimately why Kansas City was the first place to get the service. It was basically an R&D playground and the city was happy to have them.
In New York City, they don’t give approvals like that. Google would have to contract with every single building in NYC individually in order to roll out the service. Each building is considered its own jurisdiction and they have to invite a service like Google to come in and wire the building. Even then, most buildings require a majority vote by the residents to allow that since it could result in tenant costs.
Verizon apparently suffered the same issues when they were pushing out Fios internet here. That’s why the expansion was such a slow and ridiculous process in different parts of the city.
That and Verizon had no incentive because there was no real competition.
If we want Google Fiber to expand, we need to change the way internet infrastructure laws work in major cities. They won’t be able to offer their services everywhere if cities don’t allow loosen right of access and maintenance laws around infrastructure.
It would take 50 years for them to really get deep into the US. You’d need at least one major city in the US that you committed to taking so much of a loss, to rapidly expand.
I’m sure the ISPs are getting ready to start a lobbying campaign against it. They might even send some judges on vacations.
Yeah, but Google fiber is being installed in new neighborhoods at the speed of a dial-up connection.
In Minneapolis, we have a local company that offers fiber internet at a very attractive price ($75 for 1000/1000). Before they were a thing, it was either Comcast or CenturyLink DSL. Now CenturyLink has a comparable fiber service with similar prices, and Comcast reigned in their pricing.
I will always try my best to avoid Comcast. If I have another choice that’s comparable, I’ll always choose the other guy.
My city is installing fiber to every house in the city limits and it’s terrifying mediacom. Which is good, because fuck mediacom’s outrageous prices.
Google fiber caused AT&T fiber to be cheaper. I don’t recall the exact details but I know my 1gb connection costs $76/month with all fees included. I believe that’s over $100 in areas w/o google fiber. It’s been a decade of google fiber in Austin and they are finally installed in my hood now. So I’ll finally have a choice but just plan on sticking with AT&T for now because of the free Max subscription.
So yeah, I agree Google makes the competition be more aggressive on pricing. Spectrum still sucks though. In my area and they really just service the people who can’t get fiber yet.
I’d be happy for any option. We’re a ride till we die Spectrum community. That spectrum being somewhere randomly somewhere pure shit to temporarily ok’ish. You want a car wash or drive thru? We got you covered. You want consistent, decent internet (cable, cell)? Go fuck yourself.
Google Fiber was incredible when I had it before moving a few years ago. Reasonably priced compared to everyone else at the time, hardware and tech support included, and some of the best customer support I’ve ever experienced in any sector. I miss it and hope it continues to expand.
I pay $55/mo for Xfinity 800 Mbps. I’m guessing those who don’t have GFiber as an option pay more.
All I can say is I had Sonic 1gbit fiber and Xfinity at the same time and Sonic was garbage, especially at peak streaming hours (evenings). Online gaming was impossible due to packet loss. Even web browsing was noticeably slower than Comcast. We used Sonic as a failover for over a year, but hardly ever needed it since Comcast hardly ever went down, so we cancelled it. It was clear Sonic oversold their circuits. Ping latency and upload was better than Xfinity, but download speed and packet loss were abysmal, especially during peak hours.
Google fiber is still a thing?
We recently got Google Fiber, and it’s been great. I don’t think there’s been a single notable outage since. Get fricked Time Warner, oh sorry, Spectrum…
I remember when squabbles over Internet service providers were something of a nearly political conversation. Now who gives a fuck?
Once AT&T moved in, Cox reduced prices and gave their customers *Unlimited data*. Currently paying $65 a month for FTH service.
I’m actually surprised Google fiber is still a thing. I figured with how little I heard about it, it was heading towards the grave.
Every time I read an article about Google Fiber I think about how they [abandoned their network in Louisville, KY](https://gizmodo.com/when-google-fiber-abandons-your-city-as-a-failed-experi-1833244198). Google is not a company I’d ever want to rely on for an essential service like the Internet.
We see it in and around Baltimore, where Comcast has a monopoly in the city but has to compete with Verizon in the surrounding counties.
Comcast’s service in the counties has been faster and cheaper than in the city because when you don’t have any competition, you can do whatever you want.
This might have been a headline in 2012, but it’s 2024. We know. We’ve seen it happen, from when Google tried to move into Louisville and suddenly AT&T tripled speeds overnight. Or when the same thing happened in Austin. And Provo.
Google Fiber came to Louisville Kentucky several years ago and all they did is fuck people yards and roads by trying to do micro trenching in pavement which is something the big ISPs learned was dumb over 20 years ago. Then they pulled out of the city after they couldn’t roll their service out as cheaply as they wanted to. Not to mention they fought the city to give them easement rights on all existing poles that are owned by the current ISPs and electric companies and didn’t even use them, which cost the city tons of money with all of the legal shit they went through.
We have AT&T Fiber and Spectrum who both offer bilateral 1Gbps internet for 40-60 bucks a month depending on the deal you get. Google Fiber can get fucked.